Leif Eric Hertwig

The goal of this PhD project will be to develop, synthesize and characterize novel highly active homogenous catalysts for the reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia. Other prerequisites for the novel catalysts are increased longevity i.e., higher turnover numbers, being accessible through an easier synthetic route from cheap, commercially available feedstock allowing for economical larger scale application. In hindsight to future application, the ligands will bear the option to be immobilized via styrene polymerization. The catalyst design will be guided by computational studies. Furthermore, the structure, reactivity and electronic structure of active species and intermediates key intermediates will be explored. These systematic studies will provide valuable information to close the knowledge gap on what key factors make a catalyst suitable for the development of future methodologies enabling the synthesis of NH3 from atmospheric dinitrogen and water under ambient conditions.